En Direct: Live Video Streaming and TV Coverage

April 10 update: A work in progress for 2011 Paris-Roubaix live and delayed coverage. Check back at race time for the unrestricted live links. Feel free to send in additional sources for live video, tv coverage or text updates/tickers as they become known. — Steve

North America; The new cycling.tv has exclusive video for the North America market. The first hour of their coverage will be FREE from 6:55 AM ET to 7:55 AM ET. Afterwards you can subscribe to watch the rest of the race. Subscribers will also get access to 30 minutes of highlights later in the day

Live Coverage Updates

April 12 update: 12:35 CEST The race is well underway. Text updates are live with video to follow shortly. Working on alternative video feeds... — Steve
13:15 CEST Live video should start in 15 minutes. See localized start times below
13:48 CEST The feeds are starting to go live: Netherlands and cycling.tv only at the moment. Watch for the links to go bold in the live table just below.
14:00 CEST LIVE VIDEO below. 127k to go... enjoy... more feeds to come

A Sunday in Hell?

April 12 update: Paris-Roubaix may be the only road bike race where most fans hope for rain. Therefore, most people will be glad to here that it's raining this morning in Paris and at the finish. Regardless of weather it stops before the race starts, the cobbles will be slick. Check back at race time for updates to your live coverage options. — SteveCurrent Weather in Roubaix (Lille). FranceNote: Early indications show that this site will be under extreme load during the race; therefore, many images and/or links to images may be removed once the race starts. Best to do your browsing of this site now before the race starts. — Steve

Final/Official Rosters now up

April 11 update: There were about eight rider substitutions from the provisional rosters so review the startlist again: Official rosters with bib numbers and country sort option are now up (see right).Two ways to view the startlist:

April 11 update: Many live video streaming options will not be known until race time; however, here are the live video and tv options that are currently known. Feel free to send in additional sources for live video, tv coverage or text updates/tickers as they become known. — Steve

The day before: 2009 pre-race training on Pavé d'Arenberg

April 11 update:

Le Trouee d'Arenberg aka the Arenberg Trench

Chris Horner said several years ago: "...they plowed a dirt road, flew over it with a helicopter, and then just dropped a bunch of rocks out of the helicopter! That's Paris-Roubaix. It's that bad - it's ridiculous."

Recreational cyclists find out how horrible the ride is over the bumpy cobbles

Last year's champion and two time winner, Tom Boonen (Bel) of Quick Step testing out how the pavé d'Arenberg feels this year

Not exactly his event, but Filippo Pozzato (Ita) of Katusha has been on great form the last two weeks

Another Italian Manuel Quinziato of Liquigas is also on fine form with good showings at Tour of Flanders and Gent-Wevelgem. Here he is being interviewed by Davide Cassini of RAI Sport.

Le Carrefour de l'Arbre at km 242 is the 4th last cobble section extending for 2km and rated among the hardest. That namesake restaurant will be busy on Sunday.

The "Russian Global Cycling Project" has rolled in

Inside the Katusha team bus, Filippo Pozzato is interviewed by the Italian press including Claudio Ghisalberti of Gazzetta dello Sport (also seated)

Background information

This page provides essential information and links for the third big classic of the year, the 107th Paris-Roubaix, which takes place this Sunday April 12th. This year's The Hell of the North / Queen of the Classics / La Pascale: the Easter race will feature 28 awful cobblestone sections along the 259 km course followed the traditional finish in the velodrame in Roubaix. Paris-Roubaix is one of the oldest races on the professional road cycling calendar. First run in 1896, it has been stopped only by the two world wars.

If you thought the cobblestones in last weekend's Tour of Flanders were bad listen to what Chris Horner has to say about Paris-Roubaix. "Let me tell you, though - there's a huge difference between Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. They're not even close to the same. In one, the cobbles are used every day by the cars, and kept up, and stuff like that. The other one - it's completely different . . . The best I could do would be to describe it like this - they plowed a dirt road, flew over it with a helicopter, and then just dropped a bunch of rocks out of the helicopter! That's Paris-Roubaix. It's that bad - it's ridiculous."